2002: The Biggest Change in TV History? | Tomorrow's World | BBC Archive

At present, fewer than half of British viewers have made the switchover to digital television, but don't let the recent demise of ITV Digital fool you - digital TV is very much here to stay. The switch from analogue television to digital television will have a profound effect on how we watch TV. Tomorrow's World's Adam Hart-Davis posits that it will be a televisual revolution bigger than the advent of colour, bigger even than Ceefax.

While the most obvious appeal of digital TV is an increase in the number of available channels, Roger Black believes that it is the interactive element of digital television that will most fundamentally change the way we watch. The recent FA Cup semi final between Chelsea and Fulham enabled digital viewers to select alternative commentary, peruse match statistics, and even watch picture-in-picture match highlights. The latest digital video recorders enable viewers to pause live television, and to automatically record shows based on their watch history.

What of the future of the television set itself? Kate Humble demonstrates an extraordinary new television set from Japan, featuring a detachable, lightweight, wireless screen that can operate up to 30 metres from the base station - perfect for bringing TV upstairs to your bedroom, or even out into the garden.


Clip taken from Tomorrow's World, originally broadcast on BBC One, 24 April, 2002.





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